When I Discovered Pound Cake

Secret Family Recipes. They are delicious and special and everybody wants to know what is in them. Sometimes they are fiercely protected because they are big money makers like Bush’s Baked Beans and the Colonel’s 17 herbs and spices. And sometimes I wonder if the "secret" is less protection and more that no one can actually write it down!

You know, those elusive wonderful dishes that Mom and Grandma used to throw together without a recipe. No one can make it taste the same, because Mom and Grandma have no idea what or how much they put in there! They just do it until it looks or feels right. That is no help to those of us down the line who want to recreate those traditional meals for future generations.

When I was about 10 years old we traveled to Ohio to visit my Uncle and Aunt. One night for dinner my aunt was making Angle Food Cake from a mix. There were 2 separate packets of stuff to be mixed and put together a certain way. She got distracted and put everything together in one bowl all at the same time. Well, being the perfectionist that she was, she was quite upset. But she baked it anyway.

It didn’t rise, and came out of the oven about half the height it should have been. She didn’t want too, but she put it on the table. Everyone told her it would be fine.

I was the first to try a piece and instantly loved it. I told her not to feel bad. It was good. Nice and heavy. I was just a kid. What did I know? I wasn’t trying to make her feel bad. I thought I was saying the right thing to make her feel better. She wasn’t amused. But my uncle was! He laughed and laughed. Then he got a piece real quick, tried a bite, and covered for me by saying "Yes. Heavy like Pound Cake."

There is nothing secret about the recipe for pound cake. In fact the name quite literally means that the ingredients are measured by the pound. It is a very decadent very dense cake. No wonder I LOVE it!

Standard Pound Cake
1 pound of eggs (about 9)
1 pound of sugar
1 pound of butter
1 pound of flour

Pour into loaf pans and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

But wait! The SECRET to make it a bit lighter is to add a tablespoon of water to the batter!

(recipe courtesy of my friend Patsy Terrell, and the SECRET courtesy of my friend Dawn Vinson.